Iran claims it can hit 'any target, any time'

In a drill that Iran claims shows that it could hit Israel and US bases, the
country test-fires a long range shore-to-sea missile called Qader.

1:57PM GMT 02 Jan 2012

Iran claimed today that it had successfully test-fired two long-range missiles during a naval exercise in the Gulf, flexing its military muscle to show it could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the region if attacked.

In response to mounting Western pressure over its nuclear ambitions, Iran started a naval drill in the Gulf last week and warned that it could shut the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions were imposed on its oil exports, the country's main revenue source.

The 10 days of naval war-games and the warning over the Strait, a narrow Gulf shipping lane through which 40 percent of world oil passes, have rattled oil markets and pushed up crude prices.

Analysts say Iran's increasingly strident rhetoric is aimed at sending a message to the West that it should think twice about the economic cost of putting further pressure on Tehran.

"The Strait of Hormuz is in our possession. Security of the Strait is in our control, and the Strait is in our total control," said Iranian commander Habibulah Sayari.